Oahu, Hawaii (Waikiki + North Shore Trip Report)

Oahu Travel Blog

We arrived at HNL and the Enterprise shuttle picked us up. Got there and the service was excellent! In and out in about 10 min. On the way to Waikiki, stopped by the Ala Moana Mall to meet a friend and did some of our shopping here. The HIC store ran out of sandals. :( but I bought a bunch of great shirts that were on sale in the clearance section. Hehe. We then went to Walmart which was just around the block and bought water, reef socks, and the necessities. After that we checked in at Castle Waikiki Shore. The service was nice but the construction totally ruined my stay during the weekday. Tell you more later. At night we just walked around to HHV and back and around Waikiki, ABC store and stuff.

Day 2

This was one of the best days.

Mokulua Kayak Tour!! Robbie picked us up and met up with Scott. Basically briefed us and off we went! Kayaking in Kailua was definitely worth if you’ve never been. Scott was a great guide and very patient. I was wondering how tiring it must be doing the same thing every day…plus the kayak was pretty far. We met some other folks here and keep in touch with two of them. I won’t go into the details of the tour, i’ll leave that in suspense for the ones who’s going to go. Trust me, go. Dinner we ate at Oceanarium…….DO NOT EAT HERE….it’s the worst seafood buffet dinner you’ll ever eat. Then we walked back did the whole duke statue camera thing..hehe yes I waved, but it was dark….

i tried. Afterwards, we met up with friends at the Mai Tai bar and lounged there.

Day 3

As I was saying about construction in Waikiki. What’s worse than that? A construction in your own hotel right next to you. Our bed’s headboard was basically behind the elevator shaft where at 8am they started drilling and hammering away to do maintenance. This totally ruined my sleep and had to wake up. Went next doors to Shorebirds and had a coffee there. It was irritating, I was too tired to go complain, besides, we were leaving the next day to North Shore. The construction at the Outrigger was ridiculous. Even though all the rooms faced the west side, you can still hear the construction going on.

I would not recommend staying there at this time.

Picked up friends from their home and went to Hanauma Bay. Went there around noon and the parking was alright. Had plenty of spaces to park. For those of you who want to sleep in, I think it’s ok to go later. I wish I could have slept in. The multiple times I’ve been here, I came around noon. Parking is not that bad as it seems.

We went to Germaine’s Luau for dinner and it was great. We were in Bus 1 and our guide….doh! forgot his name, but he somehow managed to remember everyone’s name on the bus. Pretty impressing. He entertained us all on the ride there and back. The entertainment and food was ok, I’d rate it a 3 out of 5. We used the 20% coupon from the Entertainment book. The ride back our guide had made us pull out our cameras and as the other tour buses passed us, we all flashed them.

It was great.

Day 4

Was supposed to go to Kualoa Ranch to do some ATV but forgot our shoes, so we cancelled it and went to spend it at Kailua instead. Stopped by the Pali lookout and then headed to Waimanalo Bay first. Waves were a bit ruff but no one was there. I didn’t go in the water but my friends did. I had just layed on the beach and then I saw the jellyfish warning sign up, PMOW to be more specific. Right then, my friend got stung and came back. We were all laughing, it wasn’t a bad sting. We went to Kailua and I saw one PMOW, but didn’t bother us. The rest of the day was just relax. Night time, we ate at this ramen place behind Hyatt Regency. Nice lil cozy place. Pretty good. Sorry, but don’t know the name of it.

Day 5

Swap meet was fun, bought some shirts, ate some malasadas, bought some fake jewelry and headed up to north shore. There’s a bunch of Korean and Chinese vendors there. Lol

I did learn something interesting, this research professor we were talking to said that the Polynesian people originated from the island of Taiwan. Has anyone heard of that before?

Moving on, we stopped by Dole Plantation to get my Dole whip and then to Matsumotos.

IF you guys go there and are hungry, go check out the church right next to it. 3 days out of the week they sell bbq mixed plates for fundraiser. I highly recommend it there. It’s 6 bucks and they pile your plate high with Kailua pork or kalbi! We bought both and did some donations of our own.

After, checked in at TurtleBay and had the pool view. At first I wanted to stay on the other side facing the cove because MarriedonMaui had a great review on it, but it worked out anyways. At night time we would be able to see how many people are in the Jacuzzi so we can go when there’s less people. :) We ate at Ola’s that night, and the butterfish was not bad. Great scenic resort and very clean. I approve of this place!!

Day 6

Giovannis Shrimp Truck in the morning and met the star from lost Jorge Garcia here. Nice guy. Saw him on the Mokulua Kayak trip too. He was partying it up with his friends on the Island, it was great.

We headed to Shark’s Cove to do some snorkeling and stayed there for 4 hours! I couldn’t get enough of it. Like someone once said, it’s like swimming in a gigantic aquarium.

Saw lots of fish and some turtles, even a sea snake (don’t touch….). Went to Matsumoto’s again. Had a late lunch at Romy’s. I liked Giovanni’s better though. Then it was off to Waimea Bay to do some rock diving! This was fun.

Day 7

Slept in….ahhhh. Shark cove one more time and went to *drum roll please*…..Matsumotos…again….had to take it all in. yes it’s just ice, but I loved it. Went to Waimea Falls and there were some people swimming there. Got a bit by mosquitos several times but survived the hike. Had another late lunch but at Kahuku Shrimp truck. It was….ok. something different with a Korean spice twist.

Night we just ate at Turtle Bay and the buffet there sucked. It was Hawiian night.

Day 8

Drove back to HNL and dropped off car at Enterprise. fast service again and well, what can I say, back to the mainland and here I am today….still reminiscing and wondering how did that week go by so quick???

Hope this trip report will help some of you traveling there soon. Thanks again for everyone that helped me plan this trip!